Up in Flames
''Up in Flames ''is the third studio album by Canadian recording artist Josh Kingston. It was released on 28 June 2013 by Banana Music. Development for the album first began in March 2012 while recording sessions took place during the first half of 2013. The album is a follow-up to his 2012 album In January. The album sees a return of his standard alternative rock genre, however replaces his signature pop rock sound with new genres including funk, disco, and R&B. The album's lead single "Charlie Brown" was released on 3 March 2013, followed by its second single "Madness", released on 19 April 2013 and its third single "Get Lucky", released on 6 June 2013. Upon release,'' Up in Flames'' received generally positive reviews from music critics. Kingston continued promotion of the album following its release - its fourth single, "Strawberry Swing" was released on 21 July 2013, and he is scheduled to perform at the 2013 Banana Music Awards on 18 August 2013. A re-release of the album is planned to be issued in November 2013; which will be preceded by its lead single "Use Somebody", scheduled to impact digital retailers on 10 September 2013. Development history 'March–December 2012: Early development & title' In March 2012, Kingston announced his intentions to record a third album. Initially, Kingston had planned to have his third album consist entirely of original music, and he was hoping to spend the majority of the remainder of the year writing for the album. However, Banana Music advised him that the process of recording an original album would be strenuous and time consuming, so Kingston subsequently decided to have his third album consist of mainly covers. Despite this, he continued writing original songs, which he planned to incorporate onto his third album or onto other future releases. Following the release of'' In January: Four Seasons'' in June 2012, Kingston had an online conference with Banana Music founder, Nick Roads, where they discussed Kingston's third album. During this conference, Kingston expressed interest to begin recording his third album in September 2012 for a potential April 2013 release, similar to what was done with his second album (which began recording in September 2011 and was released in April 2012). However, after looking through files on his computer, Kingston recovered audio from recording sessions from his second album, and decided to release a second re-release, In January: The Complete Collection, which was released in November. Due to the promotion of The Complete Collection, Kingston postponed the start of recording for his third album. In December 2012, while putting together the theme of the album, Kingston was looking for inspiration and came across pictures of the city of Amsterdam, as well as Joseph Mallord William Turner's The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons paintings, which depict the 1834 burning of the Palace of Westminster. Following this, Kingston decided to give a "firey European" persona to the album. After discovering the song "Up in Flames" by Coldplay, Kingston decided to cover the song and name the album after it, although the song was ultimately not included on the record. He also chose to record the song "Lost" by Frank Ocean, which includes a reference to Amsterdam, and the song "Amsterdam" by Coldplay - however neither of the songs made the final cut of the album. Later on in the album's recording process, Kingston became inspired by Jamaica after deciding on a Summer release and travelling to the Carribean country. The image on the album is a photo that Kingston took during a bus tour in Montego Bay, Jamaica. 'January–June 2013: Recording & release' Kingston began recording his third album on 1 January 2013. Later that month, he had another online conference with Roads, where they discussed the title, release date, and release strategy for his new album. Banana Music wished to release the album during the last week of April 2013, however Kingston estimated that the album would not be completed until May. Kingston stated he would have enough finished songs to chose a single by the end of February. He continued recording the album, and initially chose to release "State of Grace" as the lead single. However, he changed his mind regarding the single several times, chosing songs such as "Madness ", "End of Time", and "Clocks". At the end of February, he submitted "Clocks" to Banana Music to release as the lead single, however changed the single to "Charlie Brown" at the last minute. On 3 March 2013, he announced a June 2013 release for the album, which was later specified as 23 June during an 8 April announcement. He stated the album would be "funner and generally happier" than his first two albums. Kingston continued recording the album throughout the majority of March and April. On 21 April, he announced that the album was finished, however that he would record the final song in May. However, on 6 May, he stated that he was still recording new songs for the album. On 1 June, he announced the album's release had been pushed back to 28 June. Recording for the album was completed on 26 June, and the album was released as planned on 28 June for digital download via SendSpace. 'July 2013–present: Subsequent promotion & reissues' Kingston announced on 3 July 2013 that Up in Flames would be re-released in November 2013. A new edition of the album will impact digital streaming service Chirbit in August 2013. "Strawberry Swing" was released as the album's fourth single on 21 July 2013. Kingston is scheduled to perform at the 2013 Banana Music Awards on 18 August 2013. Promotion Singles *"Charlie Brown" premiered as the album's lead single on 3 March 2013 via a highly anticipated and publicized USTREAM. The song was released for digital download and online streaming on the same day. It impacted Banana Radio on 4 March. *"Madness" premiered as the album's second single on Banana Recordz Countdown on 15 April 2013. The song had been planned for digital download and online streaming release on 16 April, however was delayed to 19 April in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings. Prior to official release, Kingston leaked the song on his Chirbit account on 12 April. *"Get Lucky" was released as the album's third single on 6 June 2013. Upon initial release, the song became available for digital download via SendSpace and online streaming via Chirbit. It was released for online streaming via YouTube on 11 June. A music video for the song was filmed in Kingston's home on 23 June and is awaiting release. It will impact Banana Radio on 27 August. *"Strawberry Swing" was released for digital download via SendSpace on 21 July 2013 as the album's fourth single. It was released for online streaming via Chirbit on 30 July and will be sent to Banana Radio on 13 August. *"Use Somebody" will be released for digital download via SendSpace on 10 September 2013 as the lead single from the album's re-release'' and the fifth overall single. It will be sent to Banana Radio on 1 October. '''Promotional singles' *"I Need Your Love" was released as the album's first promotional single on 2 April 2013, after premiering on Banana Recordz Countdown the previous day. The song was released primarily to promote Kingston's appearance as a guest host on the 8 April episode of Countdown. The song was ultimately not included on the album. *"Treasure" was released for online streaming via Telly as the album's second promotional single on 27 June 2013. *"Bad Religion" was released for online streaming via Chirbit as the album's third promotional single on 30 July 2013. Composition Kingston has stated that he considers the album to be made up of two entirely different moods and atmopsheres - with the first half of the album containing "fun funky Summer songs" and the second half of the album primarily consisting of "slower alternative and indie rock tracks". The album is predominantly made up of the alternative rock, funk, disco, and R&B genres, while also including post-Britpop, psychedelic rock, electronic rock, synthpop, and neo-soul. The album's opening track "Talk" is a "breezy" alternative rock track originally recorded by Coldplay for their 2005 album X&Y. "Madness", the album's second track, is an electronic rock and synthpop track originally recorded by Muse for their 2012 album The 2nd Law that Kingston describes as "intense". "Charlie Brown", an alternative rock and electronic rock track originally recorded by Coldplay for their 2011 album Mylo Xyloto, serves as the album's third track - with Kingston describing it as "a Spring weather" song that is "light and airy". The album's fourth track "Get Lucky" is a funk disco track originally recorded by Daft Punk for their 2013 album Random Access Memories and featuring Pharrell that Kingston describes as "sensually Summer". The album's fifth track is the indie rock song "Sweater Weather", originally recorded by The Neighbourhood for their 2013 album'' I Love You'', which Kingston describes as one of the album's "more intense moments". The album's sixth track is "Strawberry Swing", originally recorded by Coldplay for their 2008 album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, however Kingston replaces the lyrics with the ones of Frank Ocean's 2011 Nostalgia Ultra version, which Kingston describes as "nostalgic and emotional". The album's seventh song "Locked Out of Heaven", originally recorded by Bruno Mars for his 2012 album Unorthodox Jukebox is a new wave, funk, and reggae rock track that Kingston describes as "really fun and sexy". The album's eighth track "Elephant" is a psychedelic rock track originally recorded by Tame Impala for their 2012 album Lonerism that KIngston describes as "bangingly high" and "very rock-ish". The ninth and penultimate track "Treasure", recorded by Bruno Mars for 2012's Unorthodox Jukebox is a disco and funk song that Kingston compared to "Get Lucky", calling it "a lot of fun and totally care-free". The album's final track "Bad Religion", originally recorded by Frank Ocean for his 2012 effort Channel Orange is an R&B neo-soul song that sees the album take "a very emotional turn", with Kingston describing it as "heart-breaking" and "the most poignant song on the record, by far". Track listing The official track listing for the album was kept a secret and was not released prior to the album's release, however many rumored track listings were released prior to the album's release. The track listing for the Chirbit Edition of the album was unveiled on 3 July 2013. Release history Critical reception Upon release, Up in Flames received generally positive reviews from music critics.'' First Stop News'' gave the album a 75%, calling it Kingston's best album to date. In the review, the news port stated, "With his latest effort, Kingston offers listeners, vocally and song-choice wise, his best album to date. While his previous records have consisted of strong alternative and pop rock influences, Kingston shows with Up in Flames that he is not scared to experiment with other genres - giving listeners a highly-diversified and unique musical experience. Although Kingston's vocal ability is clearly continuing to develop and strengthen, his talent has improved remarkably in the last year, and with his newly-found musical stance, it is apparent that Kingston's upcoming original album will be an exciting and unique effort".